The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Texas _ The Texas Rangers unveiled their new home, The Ballpark in Arlington, to rave reviews yesterday.

But they'll have to wait for their first victory.

Texas' new $189 million home mixes a blend of old-fashioned design and modern luxuries, and two of the stadium's most distinct aspects _ a short right field and tight foul lines _ came into play immediately as the Milwaukee Brewers posted a 4-3 victory.

Dave Nilsson christened the Home Run Porch in right with a homer in the fifth, and Kevin Seitzer hit a triple in the sixth that fooled right fielder Rob Ducey as the Brewers took a 2-0 lead.

David Hulse, who had the stadium's first hit in the first, also scored Texas' first run, scoring on Doug Strange's sixth-inning single.

The Brewers upped their lead to 3-1 in the seventh when Nilsson reached on an error and scored on a double play. But Will Clark's first homer brought Texas to 3-2 in the bottom half of the seventh.

Milwaukee tacked on a run in the eighth on Seitzer's single.

Texas loaded the bases with none out in the eighth against Milwaukee starter Jaime Navarro and two relievers, but was only able to push one run across on Jose Canseco's bases-loaded walk.

Before yielding an unearned run and Clark's homer, Navarro (1-0) shut down Texas, retiring 17 straight at one point. He allowed five hits and three runs in seven innings. Jesse Orosco got two outs in the ninth and Bob Scanlan finished up for the save.

Texas starter Kenny Rogers (0-2), rocked in his first appearance of the season against New York, gave up eight hits in 7 2/3 innings.

Angels 9, Indians 6

ANAHEIM, Calif. _ Rookie Manny Ramirez homered in consecutive innings and had five RBI to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 9-6 victory over California in another sparsely attended home opener for the Angels.

A crowd of 37,285 _ more than 27,000 short of capacity at Anaheim Stadium _ watched Cleveland starter Mark Clark (1-0) allow only two hits over seven innings to secure the victory.

And they saw Ramirez, a 21-year-old who won the starting right-field job this spring, hit a two-run homer off John Dopson (1-1) in the fifth, then add a three-run shot off Bob Patterson in the sixth to put Cleveland up 9-0.

The Angels rallied for five runs in the ninth with two outs, but Steve Farr struck out Bo Jackson with two runners on.

Orioles 7, Tigers 4

DETROIT _ Ben McDonald pitched seven shutout innings and Cal Ripken tripled in two runs as the Orioles spoiled the Tigers' home opener.

Baltimore scored four unearned runs in the third inning, and added three runs in the sixth. Rafael Palmeiro added two RBI for the Orioles.

McDonald (2-0) carried a one-hitter into the eighth before giving up two runs. He allowed three hits in 7 2/3 innings, struck out eight and walked three.

Detroit starter Tim Belcher (0-2) gave up seven runs and seven walks in 5 1/3 innings.

Blue Jays 14, Athletics 5

OAKLAND, Calif. _ Rookie Carlos Delgado drove in five runs with two homers, and John Olerud and Paul Molitor added four RBI apiece for the world champions.

Olerud, last year's batting champ, also homered twice. He and Molitor each went 4-for-5.

The Blue Jays led 8-1 after seven innings, and after the A's rallied for four runs in the seventh, Molitor hit a two-run double off Oakland reliever Bill Taylor to extend the lead to 10-5.

Cubs 9, Mets 5

NEW YORK _ Steve Buechele drove in four runs with a double and a homer, and the Chicago Cubs ruined the Mets' home opener.

Buechele doubled home Chicago's first run in the second inning against Bobby Jones (1-1) and then hit a three-run homer off Dave Telgheder to highlight a six-run third.

Willie Banks (1-1), beaten by the Mets in their three-game sweep last week in Chicago, earned his first National League victory, allowing six hits in six innings. Banks, who pitched for Minnesota last year, struck out five and walked four. Read Next Article